


of heart stickers and strawberry milk

by holidaycafe



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, And I mean really squint, Love Letters, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, anyways hope you like this mess, changlix and woochan are there if you REALLY squint, i accidentally made everyone a dumbass and just realized it, lower case intended because im hella lazy, wiki how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-07-30 00:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16275602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holidaycafe/pseuds/holidaycafe
Summary: "dear hyunjin,i hope you're having a good day today since you deserve nothing but happiness.these are cheesy arent they? ah well ive always been a sucker for cheesy things but shh thats a secret.your smile is the prettiest for the 12th time~ s"hyunjin holds it close to his chest the smile on his face growing in size, hopefully jisung never sees him like this or else he'll be teased for years.~or seungmin writes hyunjin a note everyday, anonymously taping it to his locker at lunch and hyunjin falls for the cute heart stickers he seals them with.





	1. blue washi tape

there's a note taped to hyunjin's locker when he arrives after class to get his books. the blue washi tape looks oddly familiar but he can't pin point from where exactly. 

“hyunjin, the cutest boy i know” is scrawled in the center of the envelope and he will admit his cheeks heated up slightly at that although the whole situation is embarrassing. 

“awh look jinnies got an admirer” jisung all but coos when he lands eyes on the plainly obvious love letter. hyunjin is still rooted to the spot staring at it. it's cute with the small heart sticker in place of a stamp. 

“are you going to open it or do you just plan on staring at it” comes minho's tired reply and hyunjin rolls his eyes carefully pulling it off his locker door. there's another heart sticker sealing it and it's seriously doing damage to hyunjin's heart. 

slowly as to not rip the envelope he opens it pulling out the small note tucked inside. 

“note one: dear hyunjin,  
those glasses you wore the other day really aren't good for my heart, you looked absolutely stunning.  
treat yourself well, you deserve only the best.  
~ s”

“short but sweet my favorite” jisung says as if reminiscing, hands held over his heart as he looks at the ceiling. minho stares at him looking utterly done with this whole situation. 

“can we just go to lunch i'm hungry and it's pizza day” jisung sighs giving hyunjin a wave before tugging minho off in the direction of the cafeteria mumbling the whole way. 

“you only care about food.” minho laughs “you're not wrong.”

hyunjin carefully folds the letter again, sliding it back into it's envelope and into his locker, placing it directly on top of his books, a small, gentle smile on his lips. he turns, biology books in hand and heads towards the cafeteria where his friends are undoubtedly bickering not unlike a married couple. 

for the rest of the day he all but skips from class to class, the smile never leaving his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi again! i dont know how i feel about this but here yall go anyways
> 
> this is my first skz fic so im sorry if its super duper terrible like most of my fics
> 
> im sorry its so short as well itll probably get longer if i actually stick with this one and dont delete it like my mh au sjsjd
> 
> oof yeah okay that's it ill try and update regularly bYE
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	2. cafe boy

the cold october wind nips at hyunjins cheeks as he walks to the small cafe. it's not too far from his home but the temperature is so low he thinks he might be an ice block before he gets there. 

it takes him another five minutes to get there and the warm gust of air he feels as he enters makes walking worth it, not like he had any other choice he hasn't gotten his license yet. he spots his friends sitting in their usual booth with felix and jeongin. felix and jeongin go to a different school closer to their houses but they always try to meet them on the weekends, it's always more fun when they come. 

he slings the heavy coat on the back of the only empty chair next to felix and sits down, greeting them all with a bright smile as per usual. hyunjin prides himself on being a smiley person.

“guess what jinnie” hyunjin turns to look at jeongin and based off the mischievous glint in his eyes he already knows what's coming. 

“your ‘cafe boy’ is working” 

ah yes, cafe boy something hyunjin has yet to live down. he’s cute even in the ridiculous uniform, gold rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose that he pushes up every so often. the group has yet to learn his name since he refuses to wear his name tag, it was jisung’s terrible idea to call him cafe boy. 

“anything i can get you guys?” before hyunjin can say anything back he's ripped out of his trance by exactly the person he was thinking about, he stares at the boy, a pale purple jumper can be seen from underneath the fluorescent green apron, his eyes look expectant and its takes hyunjin a second to realize he's talking to him. 

“i'll have a strawberry milk please” he can hear the others snickering but decides to ignore them, it’s not worth the embarrassment. 

felix offers him a drive home which hyunjin happily accepts even if it means watching as felix and his cousins friend flirt shamelessly. 

he stares pointedly out the window the whole time. 

~

monday comes quickly and hyunjin drags himself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 6:30 just to fall down the stairs on his way to the kitchen, his dad snorts into his coffee and hyunjin shoots him a glare. 

after a cup of coffee he drags himself back upstairs to get ready before running out the door, shouting quick goodbyes over his shoulder and all but throwing himself on the bus. 

schools boring but more so on mondays, especially when you have double calculus first thing. he listens as mr kim drags on in a monotone voice and tries his hardest not to fall asleep. 

he fails.

he’s nudged awake when the bell rings by a boy with his face to the ground, hood pulled up to hide his face, he’s shoving a paper of notes at him and hyunjin’s thankful even if the boy was weird. 

he trudges to his locker jisung and minho not far behind him bickering, he picks up words like “cucumbers” and “fruit” and he decides he'd rather not know.

there's another letter this time with pink washi tape and hyunjins entire face lights up in a smile, he had completely forgot. 

he half runs to his locker, hastily throwing his books in it before taking the note off the door. 

“note two: dear hyunjin,  
you were so smiley after lunch yesterday, is it wrong to think its because of my note?  
your smile is so pretty by the way, it lights up your whole face and your eyes twinkle.  
i really do like you and your smile haha  
have a good afternoon you deserve it!  
~ s”

hyunjins face heats up as he reads it and jisung makes an “awh” noise, even minho seems to think its cute as he doesn't scrunch up his face like he usually does. 

he takes the first note out of his locker and carefully puts them both into his bag. 

“lunch anyone” he says turning and (actually skipping this time) heads towards the lunch room.

jisung turns to look at minho “we have to find out who ‘s’ is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey again! me updating the very next day might not ever happen again but heres a nice surprise if u could call it nice. 
> 
> im happy youre all enjoying it so far! im having fun writing it!
> 
> please ignore any mistakes im bad at writing oop
> 
> anyways thanks for reading this again bYE
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	3. the letter s

when hyunjin gets to school the next day he's greeted by an overly enthusiastic jisung and a bored looking minho handing him a list of names the begin with the letter s. hyunjin stares at them for a beat before jisung sighs.

“it’s so we can figure out who writes the letters dummy” and hyunjins eyes widen at that.

“so we can what?!” he asks genuinely concerned as to why his friends want to know who his secret admirer is. minho rolls his eyes. 

“don't tell me you don't wanna know who leaves you love letters” when hyunjin shakes his head jisung gives him an incredulous look. 

“you're insane”

they have a free period next and jisung drags them to a free picnic table outside, ignoring minho and hyunjins protests saying that if they wore better coats they wouldn't be cold. 

it's snowing but jisung still makes them sit for the entire period, crossing off names until they have five left. 

1.) sunwoo  
according to jisung he's always staring at him in their shared chemistry class although hyunjin strongly doubts he’s writing the notes since as far as hyunjin knows he's straight.  


2.) sujin  
she's the cheerleading caption and apparently very flirty with hyunjin even if he never noticed it, something jisung called him oblivious for.  


3.) seonwoo  
hyunjin won't lie and say he's not cute because he is, he's very cute in fact but he hardly looks at him let alone talks to him and therefore, in hyunjins mind, couldn't have written the notes  


4.) sohee  
hyunjin had out right laughed when jisung didnt cross her out because why wouldn't he? she acts like he doesn't exist entirely, he's pretty sure that has something to do with him stealing her favorite pokemon card in fifth grade, he laughs harder at the memory and jisung shoots him a “this is serious” look.  


5.) seungmin  
hyunjins never heard his name before which is strange since he knows pretty much everyone in the school. minho seems to be in the same situation, jisung however says that felix's cousin knows him and he apparently goes to their school. “since we know so little about him i'm not crossing him off, we have no proof he's not writing them”

jisung seems entirely too pleased when they're done, clapping his hands happily and writing another list of the five remaining ‘contestants’ (as he called them) and shoving it carelessly into his bag. 

“here's the plan” and hyunjin sighs, all he wants to do is go back inside and regain feeling in his hands (and maybe see if there's a letter on his locker, but no one needs to know that.)

“we need to get pieces of their writing so we can compare it to the note writers writing” jisung looks ecstatic and hyunjin is starting to worry he likes his secret admirer more than hyunjin. 

the bell rings and finally they all go back inside, hyunjin rubs his hands together in a poor attempt to warm them up. 

he can hear jisung and minho whispering behind him, he hears a small squeak and turns slightly to see minho grab jisungs hand tucking it into his pocket, a bright red blush on his face. 

“it'll help warm it up” and hyunjin has to hold back a snicker. 

there's a note with red washi tape on his locker when he finally gets there, with a smile so wide it reaches his eyes he pulls it off, carefully ripping it open.

“note three: dear hyunjin,  
your smiles contagious, i dont think ive ever smiled so much before.  
i hope its my letters that make you smile because that was really the whole purpose of these. well that and telling you i like you haha.  
although i do have one thing i should tell you before it's too late. i’m a boy… just write stop on a letter and leave it for me if you want me to stop. i will.  
you deserve a wonderful afternoon, i hope that's what you get.  
~s” 

“jisung” hyunjin says, smile still wide “cross off sohee and sujin he's a boy.” jisung claps his hands excitedly, hurriedly pulling out the now crumpled list and writing big X’s over their names.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two days in a row wow look at me go
> 
> pls ignore any typos sjdjd im sorry 
> 
> idk about this chapter but eh here yall go anyways
> 
> i hope youre all having/had a good day! if u had a bad one that sucks :( tomorrow will be better! if you had a good one thats great! im glad youre happy!
> 
> anyways bYE SEE YALL SOON
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	4. an almost terrible day

“we need a plan for you” hyunjin says over the phone that night with jisung. 

“for me? why?” and hyunjin almost laughs.

“you seriously need to talk to minho” and jisung goes silent, “listen i'm not going to pressure you or anything but you need to snag your man before someone else does” at least jisung snorts at that, a small reaction is better than none at all. 

“fine i'll do something, but what if-” hyunjin cuts him off before he can say anything stupid “he does sung, i wouldn't try to hurt you” and jisung sighs “okay i trust you.” 

~

hyunjin was not having a good day.

when he woke up that morning he was greeted with the news that his mom had taken the last of the coffee meaning hyunjin didn't get any. 

he missed the bus and had to walk to school which made him late ruining his perfect attendance record and had bio first period, he has no friends in bio and refused to talk to anyone. 

second period wasn’t much better since it was P.E and all the jocks had ended up in his class which meant constant shouting and way too much competitiveness for one period. he fell over twice and by the second failed attempt to throw the ball he gave up, telling mr kang he had a knee injury and sitting out for the remainder of the class. good thing mr kang has a soft spot for him. 

to top things off there's no note taped to his locker and hyunjin sits gloomily next to jisung picking at his sandwich. 

“no letter?” minho asks and hyunjin opens his mouth to say something when a boy with chewing gum pink hair runs full speed at them. handing hyunjin a note with two heart stickers. 

he smiles, “i'm not the one sending these but he couldn't make it to school today, said you'd want this.” and hyunjin smiles back ignoring the stares from the other students as he opens the envelope. 

“i got sick yesterday so that’s why nana gave you this. please don't question him about me, i want to tell you who i am but i'm not ready right now (even if i doubt he'd say anything)  
but anyways how's your day going? please say it’s good you don't deserve to be unhappy.  
i’m happy you still want me to send these after finding out im a boy, thank you hyunjin.  
i think i’ll start doing a series type thing where i call your smile pretty in every note because seriously hwang hyunjin its beautiful.  
so here we go, your smiles pretty for the first but not last time.  
~s” 

he doesn’t read it outloud all too aware of the stares and the fact that everyone's listening trying to figure out why a boy ran at him just to give him a note. he passes it to jisung who after reading it pinches hyunjins cheek and passes it to minho. 

‘nana’ turns to look at him from the other table, giving him a knowing look at the large blush spreading across his face. “tell him i say thank you” he mouths and the boy smiles wider giving him a thumbs up and turning back to the green haired boy beside him. 

hyunjins beat red but a thousand times happier and even if he has calc and chem he walks with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face for the rest of the day.

~

jisung had told minho to meet him at their favorite ice cream shop after school. thanks to hyunjins help, he sits there boul of mint chocolate chip ice cream in front of him, minho sitting across from him a large chocolate cone held in his hands. 

“just tell him” he remembers hyunjin saying over text on the way here and he knows he needs to tell him soon. 

he can feel the words coming up his throat, shoving a large spoonful of ice cream into his mouth to stop himself from saying anything. minho gives him an odd look and jisung smiles awkwardly around the plastic spoon still in his mouth. 

maybe he should've eaten it more naturally. 

on the walk home jisung can sense minho's restlessness, “what's up?” he questions and minho looks caught off guard. he turns to jisung and stares at him for awhile, mouth opening and closing for a minute or so before he finally decides what he wants to say.

“nothing” and jisung sighs heavily, he knows minho like the back of his hand and he knows somethings up but he also knows pushing him to talk about it will only cause an argument. 

he looks up at the sky light snowflakes falling hitting his face and he hears minho mumble something he doesn't quite catch.

“what?” he asks, turning to look at minho again and the boy gives him a tight smile before once again saying “nothing.” 

they reach jisungs house before either can say anything more, jisung hugs him before stepping into his warm house closing the door with a sigh muttering “maybe some other time.”

~

“how'd it go?” hyunjin questions that night over the phone and jisung tells him exactly what happened. he can see hyunjin shaking his head. 

“try again in a few days” and jisung agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ignore my typos shdjfj
> 
> omg look at this four chapters back to back, i wonder when ill let yall down and not post. maybe never i really like this au. 
> 
> i posted so late because i had a kinda bad day but reading all ur comments really cheered me up so thank u!!
> 
> i once again dont really know how to feel about this chapter but hey whats life without regrets right
> 
> thats it for now i love yall bYE
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	5. oversized sweaters

hyunjin bumps into someone on his way to class the next day. he had been in a rush since he once again missed the bus and, not looking where he was going ran full speed into someone else causing said boy to drop his books. 

the boy scrambles to pick up loose papers and hyunjin immediately bends down too a thousand apologies spilling from his lips and he hears the boy giggle softly.

“it’s okay," when hyunjin looks up at the boy his eyes widen, there in front of him in possibly the cutest oversized sweater hyunjins ever seen sits none other than cafe boy. 

he blushes lightly, handing the boy back his things before standing up again. 

“cute” hyunjin mumbles apparently loud enough that cafe boy hears him a smile once again creeping onto his face, hyunjin decides then and there that he has a very pretty smile.

“thank you” he says a matching blush on his face, before turning towards the physics room waving a goodbye over his shoulder. 

hyunjin forgets to ask him his name. 

hyunjin all but runs to his locker after class, as always a letter awaits him taped with gold tape and sealed with the very familiar heart sticker. 

“note five: dear hyunjin,  
i forgot to put that on the last one i'm sorry, i guess i was in a rush to give it to nana in the morning.  
i heard you listened to me and didn't question him.  
i’m very thankful for that hyunjin but i realized although i know tons about you, you know very little about me so here's a little fact: i like to sing and hope to one day pursue a career as an idol!  
your smiles pretty for the second time.  
~s”

hyunjin smiled, reading it over again and again and again until jisung is ready to lose his mind. 

“what did he say?!” and hyunjin giggles at the exasperated jisung beside him “he likes to sing.”

jisung crosses seonwoos name off.

~ 

when felix texts him later that night hyunjin realizes he had completely forgot to tell him or jeongin about the notes. 

“whys jisung quizzing me on my cousins friend” and hyunjin has to snort.

“cafe, saturday at 1pm i’ll tell both you and jeongin about everything” and felix happily agrees.

hyunjin spends the next hour helping jisung plan how to tell minho about his (plainly obvious) feelings which did not go without plenty of whining over the fact that they shouldn't even be focused on him when hyunjin has a whole secret admirer. 

hyunjin tells him that at least he knows what minho looks like. 

~ 

friday turns out to be the best day hyunjin had all week. he doesn't miss the bus and he has all his homework done and in on time. it's cold but not as cold as the days before and he even sees cafe boy heading in the direction of the gymnasium. 

he also has an especially cute note, there's a puppy sticker next to the heart one and hyunjin melts on the spot. 

“note six: dear hyunjin,  
mr kim won't stop talking as i write this like seriously calc isn't that interesting he needs to stop making it seem like an action movie.  
you've been smiling so much more after my first note i'm really glad these make you smile.  
they make me smile too y'know, just knowing that you enjoy getting these everyday makes it worth it.  
i hope you stay warm since apparently it's getting really cold again soon, perhaps buy a pair of gloves to keep your hands warm.  
your smiles the prettiest thing i've ever seen for the third time.  
~s” 

hyunjins becoming desperate to know who ‘s’ is now but he's always been one to respect people's privacy and if ‘s’ isn't ready to tell hyunjin who he is he wont push, besides he’ll tell him eventually anyways. 

he's started reading the letters whenever he's upset and they all sit on his desk, washi tape still attached. 

he decides then and there that when he finds ‘s’ he has to thank him for being possibly the cutest boy he's ever met (even if they technically haven't met.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont mind mistakes ill fix them eventually sjsjdj
> 
> im sorry these are getting shorter again :( just let me fix everything thats happening with school and ill go back to writing longer chapters again. 
> 
> also sorry for no update yesterday too :( it was a super busy day. 
> 
> i love u thanks for reading kate oUT
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	6. lazy saturdays

hyunjin listens to ‘s’s suggestion and buys himself a pair of gloves and a scarf and he definitely doesn't regret it as he walks to the cafe, snow collecting in his hair and the wind sending an ice cold chill through his bones. 

the cafe is just as warm and inviting as always, it's really more of a diner but the name cafe corner contradicts that. 

cafe boy usually has saturdays off hence why the mostly come on sundays and as per usual he wasn't there, hyunjins usual seat is empty and the others dont have drinks yet. all as per usual.

hyunjin sits down a sets the letters out on the table, felix immediately goes to grab one but hyunjin swats his hands away. 

“he's very protective of his letters watch out” minho says, jisungs head resting lightly on his shoulder. hyunjin positively beams at them. 

only once jeongin sits down and they all order their usuals from the curly haired boy whose name tag says chan does hyunjin pick up the first letter. 

“so theres a person who has been taping love notes to my locker with washi tape for the past week or so” and felix chokes on his drink.

“there's a what leaving you what? and jisung thinks its seungmin?” jisung lifts his head slightly at the mention of his name before realizing it was nothing too important and went back to practically sleeping on minho who for once didn't seem to care.

“anyways he ends every letter with the letter s so jisung made a list of all the s names in the school and we’ve narrowed it down to two boys. sunwoo and seungmin.” felix looks just as excited as jisung which is mildly frightening to hyunjin. 

“so how do you plan to find out who it is” hyunjins pretty sure felix is about to start jumping up and down, jeongin on the other hand looks mildly confused.

“well” jisung starts as he moves he head to a more comfortable position “at some point we plan on getting a piece of each of their writing but we haven't actually tried to get anything yet” he makes grabby motions at the hot chocolate sitting in front of him and minho sighs but brings it to his hands nonetheless. 

“hyung” jeongin is looking at jisung with concern and jisung looks over at him, covering a yawn with his hand “how late were you up?”

jisung snorts “good question.” 

felix ends up staying later than them, needing to wait for his cousin. they shout goodbyes over their shoulders as they leave heading back into the freezing cold. 

~ 

double calc put hyunjin to sleep again and once again someone handed him notes but this time it wasnt a boy with his hood pulled over his face, it was a very blushy cafe boy. hyunjin thanks him hastily shoving the paper in his bag before trudging to his locker. 

the washi tape is orange and black this time serving as a reminder that even if its snowing halloween still hasn't happened, hyunjin hastily pulls it off the door, jisung shakes his head whispering something to minho about hyunjin always being so excited to open the letters.

“note seven: dear hyunjin,  
almost ten notes wow. maybe i'll do something big for ten notes!  
since i feel bad that you don't know anything about me i guess i’m your age with brown hair and i know that's pretty much useless but its a start right?  
anyways i hope you have a wonderful day because i love you and you should never be sad.  
your smiles the pretties for the fourth time and counting!  
~s” 

with each new note hyunjin gets more and more desperate to know who s is. he still refuses to push.

with a gentle but wide smile he tucks the note into his bag, turning and heading to the cafeteria (hoping that it isn't block spaghetti being served and actually something edible.)

~

“so when do you plan on telling him?” hyunjin asks jisung over the phone that night as he reads through s’s notes. 

“uh never” jisung says after yawning. after alot of questioning from hyunjin jisung admitted he had been up late for the past few nights writing another song, which he refused to play for hyunjin. 

“well you should soon, i mean it's obvious he likes you too there's nothing to worry about” he can see jisung pouting and coming up with a very unlikely excuse as to why he cant. 

all he gets is an tired sigh “next weekend i'll tell him.”

hyunjins surprised by that, jisung has a tendency to avoid situations he feels he has no control over and he especially avoids telling his crushes he likes them. hyunjin feels like proud mother. 

“how do you plan on telling him” he asks as he plays with the corner of the letter he's currently reading. 

jisung seems to wake up at that launching into a detailed explanation on how he's going to confess.

needless to say hyunjins impressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ignore my typos oop sjdjd
> 
> the next chapter might be super short im sorry guys :(
> 
> how have ur days been? they better have been good yall deserve good days!
> 
> my friend said this au could be one of the iconic skz fics but i dont think so because that requires good writing which i dont have sjdnfn
> 
> anyways thats it for now im gonna go bulid a snow fort bc in canada it snows beFORE HALLOWEEN 
> 
> kATE OUT ♡
> 
> ps: i stg im fucking hyped for i am you idk about yall
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	7. sick days

hyunjin wakes up with a stomach ache and a sore throat. 

he groans throwing his blankets off, deeming it far too hot. he gets up eventually and trudges downstairs, he feels like he's going to be sick and judging by the look on his dads face he looks just as bad as he feels. 

he stumbles into the kitchen, grabbing the thermometer and some nausea pills as he hears his dad shout that he can stay home. 

36.4 reads the thermometer and hyunjin sighs. he takes the nausea pills and fills a bowl with water before trudging back upstairs to his room. 

he sends a quick text to jisung and minho telling them where he was before he falls back asleep.

~

hes woken up by his mom at lunch, she holds a bowl of soup out to him and he takes it gratefully.

he checks his phone as he eats, there's a few missed messages but nothing too important. he frowns remembering he can't get a letter today seeing as he's not in school. 

he sighed putting the soup bowl on his nightstand before going back to sleep.

~ 

jisung is walking to his locker when he's stopped by none other than cafe boy. he's panting due to the fact that he ran at jisung. 

“i need you to give this to hyunjin” he heaves as he hands jisung an envelope, jisung recognizes it immediately. he looks up to make sure he’s right and the boy stares at the ground, fiddling with his hands and beat red. jisung can't help but chuckle.

“sure thing seungmin. can i tell him?” and seungmin shakes his head violently. it's quite endearing in jisungs opinion. 

“okay i won't but i gotta tell you he loves these letters, he's probably being all pouty about not being able to get one today as we speak” seungmin smiles widely down at jisung.

“that's great! tell him i hope he feels better” there's still a blush covering his face and jisung chuckles.

“of course.”

~

jisung practically runs to hyunjins after school, dragging minho along behind him. he had told minho who seungmin was and told him that if he said anything to hyunjin he’d ignore minho until graduation. 

he knocks loudly on the door, minho's hand still clasped in his own and hyunjin opens the door looking thoroughly sick. 

“hey jinnie feeling any better?” jisung asks as he hangs his coat on the hook beside minhos. 

“depends if you have a letter or not” hyunjin pouts and jisung smiles just as brightly as he did when seungmin gave it to him at lunch. 

“he says he hopes you feel better” hyunjin stills mid way through opening it. 

“you met him?!” and jisung snickers “sorry can't say who he is” hyunjin huffs before continuing to open the letter.

“note eight: dear hyunjin,  
i forbid you from ever wearing a lip ring ever again. my poor heart!  
i saw you wearing gloves yesterday and i'm glad you listened to my suggestion and are keeping yourself warm in this cold weather.  
i heard you’re sick :( eat lots of soup and take some meds. we can't have you dying now can we?  
youre smiles beautiful for the fifth time.  
i love you.  
~s”

hyunjin giggles at the over dramatics of him dying and slips it back in its envelope. 

“give him a hug for me?” jisung bursts into laughter but nods his head anyways. 

“just because i love you.” 

~

hyunjin wakes up the next day feeling slightly better but not by a whole lot. he’s eaten very little and he feels like he's going to be sick any minute. 

he spends another day home. 

it's just as boring as yesterday. he catches up on unfinished assignments. and sleeps for most of the day. his mom once again comes home with soup at lunch and that helps a little but not alot. 

hyunjin really misses school. 

jisung shows up at his house once again handing him a note with a sticker of a bowl of soup and a heart. hyunjin eagerly grabs at it, pulling the letter out in one swift movement. this whole love notes thing has really gotten him good at opening envelopes.

“note nine: dear hyunjin,  
you're still sick :( please get better soon i miss seeing your face.  
we’re so close to ten notes now! i wonder what i should do.  
jisung tells me that anything i do you'll love is that true?  
he also gave me a bone crushing hug for you and it made me want to tell you who i am so i can get another one from you.  
eat something even if it feels like you'll be sick, eatings important.  
you're smiles the most beautiful smile ever for the sixth time.  
i love you!  
~s”

suddenly hyunjin thinks he could run to school while carrying a tractor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dont mind typos and sorry abt how short this chap is im still bad at writing djdj
> 
> yALL I AM YOU FUCKING KILLED THE ALBUMS ALL BOPS IM L I V I N G
> 
> look at me updating two days late. did yall miss me? probably not sjsj
> 
> STREAM I AM YOU FOR GOOD GRADES AND CLEAR SKIN
> 
> anyways what do yall think 's' will do for the tenth note??
> 
> anyways thats all fOR RN KATE OUT
> 
> ps i love u all v much thanks for reading and liking it uwu


	8. ten notes

hyunjin wakes up feeling well enough to go to school and for the first and probably last time he's excited. 

he all but runs downstairs a bright smile on his face and his dad gives him an odd look. 

“who are you and what have you done with my son” hyunjin laughs loudly as he pours his coffee.

he gets dressed in record time and he smirks as he slips the lip ring in before adding his favorite black beanie. 

with a wave to his dad he picks up his backpack and heads towards the bus stop, humming under his breath the whole way.

~

school turns out to be better than usual. he has music first which isn't hard since music is something that's always come easy to hyunjin. while bio is boring he pays attention, scribbling down notes as fast as he can, he's only stalling till lunch anyways. 

when the bell finally sounds hyunjins already packed up and running to his locker. 

he doesnt catch the boy but there's definitely a note taped on his locker door this time with pale yellow tape. 

“note TEN: dear hyunjin,   
TEN NOTES WOW  
ive left a little gift with jisung and he’ll give it to you after lunch ♡  
you're back in school which is fantastic, im glad to know you're happy and healthy!  
that damn lip ring, i'm sure you’re doing it on purpose now. (at least stop playing with it for the love of god.)  
have a good sick free afternoon!  
your smiles the prettiest for the seventh time!  
i love you~  
~s”

hyunjin can't hide the large blush taking up his face and he doesn't want to.

~

“did s give you a gift for me?” hyunjin asks sitting down in front of jisung. he gives him a smirk “maybe but you can't have it. s gave me direct orders not to give it to you until then.” and hyunjin glares at him but doesn't mention it again nonetheless. 

its silent for a few minutes as minho picks at his salad, hyunjin at his sandwich and jisung at greasy looking fries. 

“so” jisung starts, effectively breaking the silence “how do you feel about s”

it's a question hyunjin should've seen coming but it still catches him off guard. 

“what do you mean? how should i like him?” jisung rolls his eyes popping another fry into his mouth letting minho answer for him.

“do you like him back?” there is no beating around the bush with minho. 

“i mean i guess? i don't really know” hyunjin had never been good at the whole crush thing, he could never really tell when he liked someone. thank god he has minho to point it out.

“you get sad if there's no note, you keep all the letter stacked on your desk and even admit you read them when you get sad. you constantly complain about how cute this ‘s’ dude is and how much you want to meet him and above all you continue to let a random unnamed boy send you love notes even after he offered to stop. let’s face it hyunjin you like him even if only a little.”

hyunjin nods his head in agreement, choosing to ignore jisungs snort at “even if only a little,” because minho's right so why deny it?

lunch goes on as normal after that and hyunjin begins to think, he likes s but what about… 

“what about cafe boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wowie hello again pls ignore my typos sjsjd
> 
> so seungmin has a gift,,, what do yall think it is?
> 
> also i realized while writing this im not using honorifics sorry sjdjd
> 
> anyways imma go study for a test so i dont fail another class goodbye y'all
> 
> thats it for nOW KATE OUT
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	9. CDs and stuffed bears

hyunjin looks at jisung and minho with wide eyes. jisung stares back, eyes just as wide, hyunjin misses the way jisung elbows minho in the ribs to get him to react. 

“well what do you feel for cafe boy” minho says, still just poking his salad instead of eating it. 

“well i-” hyunjin sighs “i don't know.” jisung echos his sigh and hyunjin pouts. 

“figure that out first then we can talk about this” jisung says as he steals some of minho's salad. 

hyunjin nods, tuning out their bickering and finishing his sandwich. 

~

after school hyunjin is greeted at his locker by jisung holding what appears to be a CD and a small plushie. there's a note dangling off the ribbon holding them both together and hyunjin can't hide the large red blush spreading over every inch of his face. 

“you look like a tomato but here” jisung says when he gets close enough, he hands the gift tobhyunjin, pats him on the back and walks towards minho's locker. 

“dear hyunjin,  
i burned you a CD!  
i didn't know it'd be so hard though like why don't laptops have CD drives anymore? mine still has an SD card one so why not CDs??  
anyways i'm getting off topic aren't i?  
i hope you like it!! the songs on here are either songs that make me think of you or songs i've heard are your favorite so i really hope you like it!!  
this doesn't count as a note so i'm not gonna do any of the usual note stuff but i love you and hope you have a wonderful afternoon!  
~s  
ps the bears name is minnie ♡” 

thank god hyunjin owns a CD player. 

~

he runs all the way home, minnie tucked safely in his backpack and CD case in hand. 

the case is decorated with stickers not unlike the ones on the notes and there's a little message written in sharpie on the front that reads “to hyunjin, the cutest boy i know from s” and hyunjin damn near melts. 

he doesn't even acknowledge his parents once he gets home, he runs straight to his room and jams the CD into his player. 

the first song to play is beautiful feeling by day6 and hyunjin hums along quietly not knowing all the words but knowing just enough to turn his face red. he really needs to learn how to control that. 

next is never ever by got7 which hyunjin sings along to loudly, a wide smile taking up his face. when the song fades out hyunjin waits excitedly for the next one and when the song starts he turns into a blushy mess all over again. 

when you love someone by day6 plays softly from the speakers and this time hyunjin sings along since he actually knows the lyrics. with each new chord hyunjins smile grows wider. 

when the song fades out hyunjin is expecting another slow love song, what he's greeted with however is, while a love song, an upbeat got7 track playing loudly and hyunjin realizes how well s seems to know him. 

he sings along with the pretend mic he made out of a spare pencil. there's a wide smile on his face and his eyes crinkle, his laugh is bright and happy. hyunjins never felt so happy. 

the final song is yet another day6 song but he's not complaining. he sings along under his breath and lets the feeling of utter joy wash over him.

“i like you is a perfect song to end with” he thinks out loud, smile still bright and wide. his heart does a little flip every now and then. hyunjin decides then and there he has to know who s is. 

to make things better he's got direct links to s, and he knows that he shouldn't push and he should just let s tell him who he is on his own time but god damn it it's not that easy. hyunjins desperate, he has to know. 

through everything, his pure unrelenting happiness and his desperation to know who s is there's still a question weighing on his mind. 

what about cafe boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disregard typos i Suck at writing with a capital s ashsj
> 
> theres like no woochan sorry ill try and add more but idk
> 
> also if anyone wants to burn me a CD ill just hand over my heart. 
> 
> im sorry abt how short these chapters are getting :( theres some irl stuff happening rn im sorry guys :(
> 
> yall deserve to have a wonderful day/night bc i love u and ur all fantastic!
> 
> anyways thats it for now rip love yall
> 
> kaTE OUT
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	10. why so glum chum

that question weighs on his mind putting an ever present damper on his mood. he slouches through the halls, backpack hanging limply off his shoulders. he frowns at the desks and lockers and hardly gets any work done. he has to figure out what to do. 

“why so glum chum” jisung asks throwing a ball of paper at his forehead. it hits him right in the middle of his forehead and jisung whoops.

hyunjin sighs. “i can’t like two people can i?” jisung shakes his head still happily scribbling in his notebook. minho had apparently had enough of hyunjin “unless they're the same person” jisung eblows him extra hard in the ribs and minho yelps. 

“how could they be the same person?” hyunjin asks cocking his head to the side, jisung throws another paper at him “they aren't” hyunjin ignores the way his voice breaks at the end. 

~

the only good thing about hyunjins day is the letter taped to his locker. the vibrant green tape could probably be seen from space. it brought a smile to his face for the first time that day. maybe he lets s effect him too much. 

“note 11: dear hyunjin,  
you seem sad today :( what's wrong?  
i know you can't really tell me per say but i still want to help :(  
you don't deserve to be sad you're too kind and pretty :(  
pretty people aren't supposed to be sad :(  
i heard you liked the CD!! that makes me happy!  
please try and smile at least once today, it'll make me super happy!  
your smiles the prettiest for the eighth time  
love you ♡  
~s”

hyunjin smiles slightly at how cute s is but the guilt continues to eat away at him. he feels like he's going behind s’s back, like he's cheating somehow. he sighs tucking the note carefully into his backpack, trudging to the cafeteria where he can drown his sorrows in food. 

jisung and minho share a look as he sadly picks at his salad. minho awkwardly looks around not knowing quite what to do until his phone vibrates in his pocket.

| jisung: we have to do something

| minho: there's nothing we can do that wont give s away

| jisung: i know but look at him we can't just do nothing

| minho: sungie maybe we should just yknow  
| minho: maybe we should let him figure it out himself

| jisung: if he's this sad by halloween i'm intervening 

| minho: okay

jisung huffs before stuffing a cookie in his mouth. hyunjin is too sad to notice. 

~

class drags on like it did that morning and hyunjin continues to get barely anything done, there’s too many unanswered questions floating around in his head. what did minho mean unless it's the same person? does he really like cafe boy? what’s cafe boys name? does he really like s? and so on. 

he trudges home, snow falling into his hair. he shakes it out periodically. his hands are cold since he forgot his gloves and he listens to his sad playlist. needless to say it doesn't help. 

his parents notice something's off the second he steps in the door, shrugging his coat off half heartedly, putting it away with a sigh. they don't question him which hyunjin is thankful for, he doesn't really want to explain that he likes a cafe worker and the boy whose taping love notes to his locker to his parents. 

he toes off his shoes and goes right to his bedroom, flopping sadly onto the soft duvet. he reaches over and presses play on his CD player letting the soothing guitar chords of day6 wash over him, he grabs minnie from his shelf and just lays there. 

he ends up falling asleep, minnie tucked under his arm and s’s CD playing quietly in the background. 

~

his mom shakes him awake with a look of concern, “hunny what's wrong” she asks softly pushing his hair out of his face. hyunjin rubs his eyes before he speaks. 

“it's nothing” he can hear his mom tsk but she's never been one to push, she knows he’ll tell her later. 

“well c'mon it's time for dinner” he smiles and nods carefully tucking minnie back onto his shelf and turning off his CD player. 

hyunjin falls asleep after finishing his homework and this time no one wakes him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg chapter ten
> 
> still makkng typos please still ignore them ajsjs
> 
> i feel like im making this over dramatic but iDC IM OVER DRAMATIC DEAL WITH IT
> 
> anyways hyunjins a tiny sad baby i just wanna hug him and tell him how this au ends
> 
> speaking of which its no time soon so buckle up kiddies 
> 
> i just get more and more like a crackhead as we go,,, im showing my true colours
> 
> this au is so much bigger than i ever expected and i know its not that big buy i expected like 4 kudos and this has 200 so thank u guys i love yall :')
> 
> anyways thats it for me kATE OUT
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies
> 
> ps: be excited for the next chapter *eye emoji*


	11. confessions

jisung had invited minho over to his studio at one which is in an hour much to jisung’s dismay. normally jisung would be excited minho was coming over since he had always loved playing his songs for him but today was different.

jisung was going to confess.

he had been planning this all week, staying up far too late trying to finish it and even later perfecting it. changbin had scolded him for overworking himself but jisung barely cared, this was important after all.

he spent 60% of the remaining hour cleaning the studio. he scrubbed the small coffee table till it shone, he swept every piece of dust out from under the couch, he even mopped. for the last twenty or so minutes he fussed with his hair and flattened his shirt more times than he can count. he fiddled with the computer and spun himself in circles on the spinney desk chair. he checked his phone every five minutes (each time hoping to see a text from minho saying he’d be late, none ever came) he even managed to sweep again.

and then he heard a knock.

he stared at the door for a few seconds, broom still in hand before his brain seemed to kick back into action.

he flung the broom back into the closet before pulling the door open to reveal minho, hand poised as if to knock again, backpack slung over his shoulder and just as pretty as always.

inwardly jisung sighs. this was not going to be fun.

the first thing minho says as jisung steps aside to let him in is,

“wow its abnormally clean in here”

maybe jisung put in too much effort but hell be dammed if he ever admits that “yeah chan cleaned it yesterday.”

“is chan the same one from the café?” right jisung forgot he works there.

“yeah didn’t I tell you?”

“no, you never really let me meet him or changbin”

“really?”

“really”

“oh” jisung wants to slap himself for being so stupid.

“anyways you said there was a ‘song’ you wanted to show me?” minho says adding air quotes around song just like jisung did over text before sitting his bag and coat down on the loveseat woojin insisted they needed and pulling up a stool by the computer.

Jisung pulls up the file labelled “caramels and thing less sweet than you” and he takes a deep breath before hitting play.

a chorus of “please don’t hate me” ’s ring in his head as the opening chords play but he closes his eyes and says nothing.

he can hear little giggles from minho at different points in the song and he seems to be enjoying it, which is good. Jisung doesn’t write love songs all that much finding the lyrics complicated and the melodies never fitting right but if minho likes it he likes it.

he tunes out most of it to save himself from embarrassment but he catches words here and there but he hears the last line loud and clear before he presses stop.

“oh, I fell in love with life but only when i met you” and minho sighs like a lovesick teenage girl.

“who’s it for” minho asks after a few seconds of silence, jisung gulps. here goes nothing.

“you”

minho freezes, eyes going wide “m-me?” he even points to himself and jisung suppresses a snort. he’s too nervous anyways.

“yeah you, I like you lee minho”

minho continues to just blankly stare at him and jisung swallows the growing lump in his throat.

a minute or two passes of them just staring at each other and with each passing second jisung feels more and more like he’s going to be sick or burst into tears. maybe both. Well until minho starts to smile.

it’s a big smile too, his eyes crinkle and you can see all his teeth. jisung’s always liked his smile.

“i like you too” and now its jisung’s turn to freeze, jisung’s turn to stare wide eyed at minho and its jisung’s turn to break out into a huge smile.

he launches forward wrapping minho in an awkward but tight hug. minho laughs hugging back just as tightly if not more until jisung complains he can’t breathe.

maybe minho was hugging him harder than he thought.

they sit there just smiling at each other for a few minutes just absorbing what had happened.

“wanna go for ice cream?” minho suggests still staring at jisung, who laughs.

“but it’s the middle of winter silly”

“firstly, halloween hasn’t happened yet and secondly its never too cold for ice cream.”

jisung can’t say he disagrees.

~

jisung forgets his scarf and after his fifth failed attempt to hide his face in his jacket minho stops and takes his own scarf off before tying it gently around jisung’s neck and pulling it up over his face leaving jisung with a bright red blush.

the ice cream parlor isn’t far from the studio so they arrive rather quickly even with jisung stopping to coo over every dog they see.

they order their usual’s, a mint chocolate chip and a moonmist before sitting down at their usual table. To say jisung’s not enjoying himself would be a lie. Jisung loves spending time with minho, platonic or not.

after ice cream jisung lets minho drag him around town. They stop in the pet store, at the park, the museum and even the music store. By the time minho starts walking jisung the suns starting to set.

and boy did jisung have fun.

minho kisses him on the cheek at his door leaving them both with matching bright tomato red blushes.

~

“so, how’d it go? Did you tell him?”

“wow jinnie not even a hello?”

he can hear hyunjin giggle through the phone. hyunjin always has to know everything and jisung is happy to share every detail about his day.

“but yes, I did tell him”

he has to hold the phone away from his ear as hyunjin lets out a far too loud ‘whoop.’ he can picture him in his head throwing his arms up in the air with a big smile on his face as he shouts.

“okay now you have to spill” jisung shakes his head fondly but wastes no time in delving into a very detailed, very long rendition of what happened today.

he falls asleep with a smile on his face and goodnight texts from minho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so minsung fINALLY MADE IT.
> 
> this was written on my laptop so it should be typo free but who knows right
> 
> anyways bc i forgot to mention it earlier woojin chan and changbin are in college and own the studio jisung just uses it. 
> 
> and incase u haven't noticed im trying to get my update schedule back in order so lets hope i dont start failing every class again and have to post pone chapters
> 
> also this is like my longest chapter yet i think whoop
> 
> who do yall think next couple to get together will be im curious
> 
> also i hope yall are having a good day bc i actually had a pretty good one and yall deserve that.
> 
> thats all for now kaTE OUT 
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies (unless i get suspended bc that's a thing now apparently (unless its a hoax in which case dONT WORRY))
> 
> ps like how i didnt actually write any of the song? yeah if u want to know what it sounded like before i scrapped it and wrote that check out bry!! hes great uwu


	12. happy late halloween

hyunjins happy for jisung and minho right up until he's stuck being a third wheel at the cafe that morning. it's been decorated for halloween with little window stickers and fake ghosts hanging limply from the ceiling, the employees get to wear little witch hats and hyunjun thinks cafe boy looks extra grumpy about his uniform. 

hyunjin will never admit its cute.

the guilt is still there as they wait for felix and jeongin. it seems to grow with every passing second of avoiding looking at minho and jisung. hes dubbed them minsung even if minho thinks its a dumb name, minsung are currently whispering back and forth with bright red blushes. 

someone snorts and he turns to see felix walking over, jeongin close behind him. 

“looks like you need some help here jinnie” jeongin laughs, minsung are still whispering and have yet to notice the new arrivals. felix rolls his eyes. 

“hey! earth to minsung!” felix shouts waving his hand in their faces and they jump, looking back at him with wide startled eyes. hyunjin laughs. 

the guilt is easy to ignore until cafe boy comes over to collect drink orders.

“i know all your orders by now since apparently none of you like change but my boss says i have to come over anyways” hyunjin keeps his eyes downcast and listens to jisung, ever the extrovert, make dumb small talk. 

he sighs, he just wants his strawberry milk so he can go home and wallow in self pity until his mom insists he has to pass out candy. 

~

hyunjins plans are ruined by none other than yang jeongin, who drags him down to the towns infamous haunted house with the others. 

“i heard whats happening with cafe boy and s and you need to have some fun so come on it's just down here” hyunjin hates his friends.

it's a big house that sits on a small hill, the windows were boarded up ages ago and it always looks eerie. the house has been standing for as long as anyone can remember and some of the elderly even remember when it wasn't a halloween attraction but a regular house or as regular as a ‘real haunted house’ can be. 

the rumors are that ghosts actually haunt the place but hyunjin, a firm believer in logic, disagrees. it’s just some creepy looking house they made an attraction not some house from the conjuring. 

inside it's warm and hyunjins never been so thankful for electric heating. he hangs his coat on the small hook near the entrance, jisungs already holding tightly to minho's arm and hyunjin has to suppress a sigh. 

he takes a look around, there's a small booth sitting against the wall, the girl working looks tired and bored as she scrolls through something on her phone, there's a doorway leading into what would have been the living room, an old tv stands flickering on a shelf and a loud wiring sound comes from the seemingly broken overhead fan. 

when they pay to go in the girl hands them all pamphlets and hyunjin almost laughs. “it can't be actually haunted if they give out pamphlets for fucks sake” 

he was right. 

the motion detector on the bookcase swing it open and hyunjin enters first, leading the group of scared teens down a dark hallway. at the end there's two doors one swings open to reveal a room full of (obviously plastic) skeletons and the other leads down a flight of stairs to the next room. 

hyunjin will admit he jumped.

the man had been hiding just out of sight and jumped out at the five of them letting out a blood curdling scream and pretending to faint. 

jisung throws minho in front of him and runs to the door on the other side of the room just to activate more motion sensors and the statue which had once been standing against the wall falls forward just enough that it almost hits the floor but not quite. felix yelps before running out the door, jisung close behind. 

‘the technology in here really is amazing’ hyunjin thinks as he steps over the statue listening as it’s pulled back into place. 

the rest is mostly long hallways but the most notable jumpscares include

\- the animatronic dog which jumped out of its dog house directly in front of jisung causing him to stumble back directly into minho (who has yet to be remotely frightened) and bury his face in the crook of his neck.   
\- the animatronic man that grabs at the metal bars in front of him and shouts for help while growling is heard inside the fake cell.  
\- the coffin that opened to reveal a women who sat up and stared at them as they walked past (felix's least favorite part.)  
and of course  
\- the man who chased them out with a (fake) axe. 

needless to say hyunjin enjoyed himself. 

they go to a burger shop after because minho has gone back to complaining about the lack of food and hyunjins not going to complain, jeongin owes him a meal. 

they sit and talk for a good hour or two, it's nice, for the first time in the past few days hyunjin is happy he's laughing and teasing the others like he always does. he can see the way jisung smiles at him and he knows jisung knows it's the first time he's been this happy in three days, it feels good. 

he wishes it could last forever but eventually when it becomes quarter to midnight he's knows his mom probably wants him home and it seems to be the same for the others as they all begin the trek back to minhos car because he's the only who can drive and no one wants to walk. 

hyunjin sleeps easily that night, a happy smile on his face and a much better night behind him than he was expecting. 

~

monday, to no one's surprise, is awful. hyunjin wakes up with a feeling of dread but gets ready nonetheless. he eats breakfast slowly and his dad has to kick him out tp get him on the bus. 

he doesn't want to go. 

he sleeps through calc as always and cafe boy hands him his notes again hyunjin doesn't even bother looking at them just giving a tired thanks and heading off to his locker. he misses the pout on cafe boys face. 

he sees the letter and he smiles lightly, he drops his backpack, pulls the letter off and sinks to the floor next to his bag. he half doesn't want to open it. 

“note 12: dear hyunjin,   
you're still sad :( its making me sad stop :(  
you look so troubled all the time now i just want to hug you and comfort you :(  
because you seem so sad i asked the cafeteria lady to save a cookie for you, don't worry i already paid for it!  
just ask the lady for it she said she'd give it to you!  
i love you lots please be happy again soon  
i miss your smile but it's the prettiest for the ninth time!  
yours always  
~s”

hyunjin hugs it, he knows s means good but it just made him feel all the more guilty.

“maybe i should ask him to stop writing” hyunjin says when he finishes the cookie, the lady had looked so fond giving him it and hyunjin just keeps feeling worse. 

“are you crazy?!” jisung all but shouts and hyunjin frowns 

“no, im just thinking-”

“well stop” minho says voice stern and hyunjin sighs “hyunjin i think you know why you shouldn't ask him to stop” and hyunjin nods before grabbing his stuff and walking out of the cafeteria. 

jisung turns to look at minho, expression firm.

“im doing something” and minho can’t argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably typos u gotta just pretend they arent there sjsjs
> 
> im sorry abt the gap lifes a lil bitch
> 
> writing this hurts my heart :( i promise hyunjin gets happier soon :(((
> 
> if this made u sad im coming with blankets and cuddles and im gonna make u happy again 
> 
> also the lights are flickering in my house and im mid thunder storm,,, fun fact iM AFRAID OF THUNDER STORMS UHM
> 
> lets hope i live shall we
> 
> did yall have a good halloween? i binged movies and passes out candy its was v fun ngl although i miss trick or treating :(
> 
> i love ur comments btw they always make me smile so thanks
> 
> also theres almoST 3000 READS IM SO CONFUSED LIKE WHAT
> 
> this au is so much bigger than it shouldve been so thank you all so much uwu
> 
> please dont abandon this au bc i have a shitty (nonexistent) update schedule sjsjd
> 
> thats all for me rn so yknow 
> 
> kaTE OUT 
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	13. small smiles and cookies

jisung taps his foot impatiently as he waits for choir to end, he’s standing outside the door fiddling with his phone, there’s only about 10 more minutes. 

he’s been checking his Instagram for 40 minutes now and he’s pretty sure he’s liked every photo on his feed at least twice. he can hear the choir teachers monotone voice through the door, then there’s some laughing and suddenly kids are ploughing over each other in a rush to leave the building.

jisung tucks his phone into his back pocket and pulls seungmin out of the crowd, the boy looks suspired until he sees jisung. jisung has a plan, he’s going to fix this./

jisung’s always been one to care too much if his friends seem hurt or sad and hyunjin seems to be both at the moment and that means jisung has to do something no matter how stupid. 

“when do you plan on telling him” he’s straight to the point, no beating around the bush like he usually does. not this time. 

seungmin opens and closes his mouth twice, shuffling his feet on the cold concrete floor. 

“well never?” his voice sound unsure and jisung cant help but bury his face in his hands with a sigh.

“why not he’d love to meet you” his voice is muffled due to his hands, but he makes sure to add extra emphasis on the word love. he definitely doesn’t miss the way seungmin’s face heats up like a bright red tomato.

“i have to get to work but-“ seungmin says with a tiny smile “we can talk about how I should tell him later?” before jotting down his number and handing it to jisung.  
jisung wants to do a happy dance.

~

tuesday morning comes and goes with jisung texting someone the whole morning, every so often passing a note to minho. Hyunjin knows somethings up but he’s too tired to pester them. 

he was up far too late listening to the CD s gave him and thinking, he did too much thinking. 

his mom had jokingly handed him one of her old my chemical romance CDs that morning. 

however, hyunjin did pick up a few whispers:  
“do you think hell like it?” “of course, he will dumbass” “hey you love me” “unfortunately”  
hyunjin stops listening.

~

there’s a note as always taped to hyunjin’s locker door when he gets there. The pretty pick tape brings a small albeit sad smile to hyunjin’s face for the first time that day. jisung and minho definitely take note of that. 

“note thirteen: dear hyunjin,  
Hi again cutie!  
i’ve mad it my personal mission to make you happy since you’ve been sad for long enough!  
i bought you two cookies today and the cafeteria lady called us cute haha.  
please try and smile its been said smiling helps to brighten your mood!  
your smiles the prettiest for the 10th time!  
love you lots.  
~s”

hyunjin does as s says and with a semi forced smile and a bright red blush, he starts to make his way to the cafeteria for his cookies.  
“whipped” jisung mutters just loud enough for hyunjin to hear.  
“well if i’m whipped what are you then?” he shouts back of his shoulder and he’s pretty sure jisung almost gave him the finger, arm being yanked down by minho at the last second. 

~

hyunjin has to drag himself to school Wednesday morning, he isn’t motivated to get up let alone go to school but he does anyways. grades are important and hyunjin cant let his slip. 

he’s greeted by a pop quiz first period. hyunjin wishes he stayed home. 

his morning is terrible, and he swears if he has to listen to one more kid shout in english about basketball he’s going to lose it. 

in desperate need of a pick-me-up he races jisung to his locker and pushing the guilt down pulls the letter off his locker with a tiny smile. 

“note fourteen: dear hyunjin,  
awh you smiled for me!  
it made my day so much better seeing your beautiful smile again, i really have missed it.  
i was worried it was because you hated my letters but now, I don’t think that’s the case!  
there’re two more cookies waiting for you in the cafeteria!  
your smiles prettier than the stars for the 11th time!  
love you lots.  
~s”

hyunjin feels bad for making him think he hated the letters, but he just adds it to the pile of things he feels bad about and forces another smile, they really do help.  
he eats his cookies happily before taking enough money for three and telling the cafeteria lady to save three for the boy who always buys his.  
He keeps the smile on his face for the rest of the day. 

~

|jisung: did u do the calc hw

hyunjin stares at the message for a minute or two.

|hyunjin: shit

he sighs sitting up and making his way over to his desk, plopping down into his chair with a groan.

|hyunjin: whens it due

|jisung: tmw

of course it is, hastily hyunjin pulls his notes out of his binder, throwing them haphazardly onto his desk and starts.

he’s only mid way through when he decides he needs a break and picks up s’s first letter, by the 10th one he’s ready to start working again before he notices something. the handwriting in café boys notes is exactly the same as the writing in s’s notes.

wait

hyunjin pauses, staring blankly at his notes as he remembers what minho had said “unless they’re the same person”  
oh hyunjin has to call jisung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this seems so rushed im sorry guys :(
> 
> also im on my laptop so if theres any typos i corrected the correct spelling to the incorrect one sjsjdj
> 
> chapters should get better as this gets better sjsjs
> 
> also i said there would be woochan and changlix but uhm there iSNT ANY SSDHSJ
> 
> also shoutout to one of my fav writers who messaged me on twt just to compliment this au and call me her love letter au queen i lOVE U
> 
> actually i love each and every one of you that clicked on this au whether thats just now or at the first chapter ur all great ily mwah
> 
> okay a hoe has play practice tmw so i gotta blast mi amigos
> 
> kaTE OUT
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies


	14. jisung is over dramatic

jisung picks up after two rings.

"now i know you're not done that calc homework so-"

"is s cafe boy?"

jisung goes dead silent.

"how did you-"

"for the past few weeks ive been fallings asleep in double calc, cafe boy always gives me notes."

"okay and this matters because?"

hyunjin heaves an exasperated sigh, "because the writing is exactly the same as s's"

the line goes dead.

~

hyunjin finishes his homework and calls jisung again multiple times but they all go to voicemail and hyunjins tired of leaving messages. 

he feels better however, jisung hanging up just confirms what he already knew and that also means he likes the same person and doesnt have to feel guilty anymore. although he has yet to learn the boys name.

he cant for the life of him remember the last two names on jisungs list, curse his bad memory.

ah well he can just ask jisung tomorrow.

~

jisung avoided him all morning and no matter how hard he tries to talk to him he speed walks the other direction, hyunjin just can't figure out why. what did he do? should he apologize?

minho tells him not to so hyunjin doesn't. 

he trudges grumpily to his locker this time without jisung or minho. as much as he hates to admit it he misses them.

the note has a small smiley face stuck by the heart sticker and hyunjin smiles back at it, he can't help it. 

“note fifteen: dear hyunjin,  
jisung isn't with you today :( neither is minho, they won't tell me why :( did you guys have a falling out or something? If so youre all too close for it to last too long and it'll blow over soon!  
you got a haircut! when? goodbye beautiful mullet.  
i had an epiphany the other day, you could shave your head and paint yourself green and i would still think youre beautiful.  
i hope you're having a good day today since you deserve nothing but happiness.  
these are cheesy aren't they? ah well i've always been a sucker for cheesy things but shh that's a secret.  
your smile is the prettiest for the 12th time  
~ s  
p.s don't forget to get your cookies!"

hyunjins smile lights up the whole hallway.

~

hyunjin ends up sitting with sunwoo and his friends at lunch, it was rather entertaining to say the least. he learns that chanhee can eat much faster than him, that math is actually fun for some people and that canadians are weird.

he watches as cafe boy happily eats three cookies a few tables over, he has a blush and matching smile and hyunjin ignores the little flip his heart does. 

apparently he was too obvious with his staring because kevin turns to look at him with a glint reminiscent of jeongins and says “you like him don't you?” hyunjin coughs and jacob elbows kevin in the side. 

while the two bicker in english hyunjin throws away his remaining food and grabs jisung by the arm dragging him out into the hall.  


“why are you ignoring me?” he didn't mean to sound so mad. 

jisung blinks at him “i knew you would ask questions that i didn't want to answer because s isn't ready to reveal himself yet and i don't want to expose him.”

hyunjin sighs “well i know who he is now but i won't ask you questions”

jisung gives him a tight lipped smile before heading back to the cafeteria.

“oh and one more thing” he shouts over his shoulder “saturdays going to be fun”

hyunjin thinks he knows what he means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the titles so fitting sjsjd
> 
> ignore typos like always sjsjdj
> 
> theres only like 5-10 chapters left im sad bros
> 
> i love u all uwu
> 
> i feel like sHIT MY WHOLE BODY HURTS
> 
> on a happier note im getting out of french immersion so lets all hope i pull my grades up shall we sjsjdj
> 
> i wrote this listening to black veil brides i-
> 
> okay thats it for me i love yall comments and kudos are appreciated 
> 
> kaTE OUT 
> 
> twt: @/cafejunnies
> 
> ps be excited for the next chapter ;)


	15. its cold but you make me warm

friday seems to go by in a blink. jisung spends all free period texting someone again but now hyunjin thinks he knows who it is. he's never been so excited to go the the cafe either, normally he couldnt care less since the cafe just meant hanging out with his friends but now it meant seeing s and thats more exciting then his friends being loud. 

he's going to see cafe boy in a new light and it's definitely a good one. one again he thinks s has too much effect on him. even his parents have noticed the complete attitude flip, when hyunjin came down the stairs that morning a wonderfly bright smile on his face his dad almost dropped his coffee mug. 

he managed to get his calc homework in on time and he even got an especially cute note. 

"note sixteen: dear hyunjin,

three cookies eh? well since its now a competition i bought you four!  
but seriously thank you it means alot ♡  
jisung still wont tell me what happened but you two seem to be friends again so i guess whatever happened was resolved. see i told you!  
i hope you have an amazing day and take good care of yourself!  
your smiles the pretties for the thirteenth time!  
love you lots!  
~s"

hyunjin buys him five and maybe he enjoys his four a little more than usual. 

~ 

he wears his lig ring to the cafe that saturday, out of the cornwe of his eye he can see cafe boy stare at him all the way until hes sat down the jisungs phone bings loudly, the owner of said phone burys his head in his hands with a disappointed sigh, at who hyunjin doesnt know. 

everyone seems to be in on something hes not and its really starting to annoy him, all the whisperes back and forth and shifty glances at hyunjin and s. hyunjins desperate to know what they know but doesnt voice this. 

however any thought of his annoying friends is swept out of his mind as cafe boy comes over, silver namtag pinned proudly on to his ridiculous apron. 

"kim seungmin" hyunjin breathes out and they boy turns to look at him, eyes sparkling with the afternoon sun and he pushes his glasses uo his nose farther as they slip down. 

"hwang hyunjin" he repeats back and hyunjins heart does a flip. 

he smiles and hyunjin begins to be concerned over how many flips his heart does and how many he can take. 

"strawberry milk i assume" and hyunjin nods in confirmation.

its then that he realizes how quite the whole table has gotten, all watching him and seungmin iteract with wrapped attention. hyunjin coughs awkwardly and its like everyone suddenly kicked back into action.

when his milk finally comes, scrawled on this side of the cheap plastic cup is none other than s's writing. 

"meet me back here at 4:30pm i have something to tell you" 

hyunjin can barely contain himself. 

~

when jisung hands seungmin the money for the drinks seungmin hands 2.50$ back with a smile.

"someones already paid for the strawberry milk" 

its no secret who. 

~

hyunjin gets there five minutes early, there's a different boy behind the counter although his apron is no less ridiculous. he winks at hyunjin and says "min will be out in a minute why dont you sit down?" 

hyunjin does so deciding to ignore the boys shouts of "min get your ass out here! your boyfriends here!" although he can barely surpess his snort at "shut up chan i already told you hes not my boyfriend!" 

"well then whyd you call him that?!" chan shouts back. 

"i never did what drugs are you on?!" and hyunjin chuckles as chan turns to look at him, smile wide and teasing,

"he totally called you that."

seungmin decides then is a good time to show his face, or at least what you can see of it, his scarf is pulled up over his nose and hes fixing his hat with a pout, hands enclosed is fuzzy mittens.

"i totally didnt" his voice is muffled due to the scarf and hyunjin thinks his heart is jumping rope in his chest. 

he turns to look at hyunjin, eyes crinkled into a smile.

"ready to go?" he asks and hyunjin nods, standing up and following seungmin out the door. 

"have fun on your date!" chan calls after them and seungmin rolls his eyes, blush just visible over the top of his scarf. 

"im sorry about him" seungmin sighs and hyunjin chuckles. 

"dont worry i have a friend like that too" seungmin giggles in reply "i think you know who it is"

~

"just down here some more" seungmin says, pointing down the street with his mittened hand cutely, although hyunjins pretty sure he thinks everything seungmin does is the cutest. 

~

they come to a park which seungmin happily pulls hyunjin buy the hand through until he comes to a stop in front of a swing set. 

seungmin chooses a swing and pats the one beside him for hyunjin to sit down. 

"so" he begins as soon as hyunjins sitting on the swing, lightly pushing himself with his legs.

"i bet youre wondering who keeps leaving you notes" hyunjin nods, not taking his eyes off seungmin who looks scared and worried, a complete difference from just a minute ago. 

"please dont be disappointed when i say this" seungmin squeezes his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. 

"but i wrote them" his eyes are still squeezed shut and hyunjin has half as mind to think he expects rejection. 

instead hyunjin reaches out and tucks a stray hair behind his ear. 

"im not disappointed because i was half hoping it was you."

seungmin opens his eyes at this and turns to look at hyunjin a mixture of shock and joy on his face. seungmin stands and hyunjin follows suit, seungmin reaches out and cups his face so gently hyunjin wonders if he thinks hes made of porcelain. 

"can i kiss you" his eyes are wide, voice soft and hyunjins heart melts. 

he smiles wrapping his arms around seungmins waist. 

"thought youd never ask"

seungmins arms move to hyunjins neck, his eyes fluttering shut. 

his lips fit perfectly on hyunjins own, theyre soft and faitly taste of strawberrys. 

seungmin pulls away first resting their foreheads together and hyunjin rubs their noses together, theyre both beaming. 

~

they spent the rest of the day running all around town, seungmin on hyunjins back half the time. it begins to snow and they rush in and out of different stores desperate for warmth. they try on the various christmas headbands and any dumb things they have lying around (hyunjins personal favorite being the rainbow feather boa and sunglasses made to look like a giant raindeer that seungmin proudly strutted around the whole store in). they laughed at the christmas decorations, and try and fit into the fake toy cars soread around the mall, all the while their hands stay clasped in between them, seungmins mittens stuffed inside hyunjins coat pocket. 

~

by the time hyunjin collapsed into bed he was exhausted but happy and had a new number in his phone. 

he calls jisung with a smile and its hardly rung once when he picks up. 

"so?" he asks clearly excited.

"im in love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUCK YALL IM SO SORRY OMG
> 
> please forgive me for not updating in almost a month i feel so bad
> 
> only like four more chapters i cant believe it
> 
> im publishing another fic on the fifth so my update schedule will now be whenever im not updating ---- ill update here so in case u want shitty minsung christmas fluff i published it ajaksks
> 
> i hope the endings good enough for yall :( i tried my best but its probably shitty so
> 
> anyways thats all for me! comments n kudos are always appreciated 
> 
> kaTE OUT 
> 
> twt: @/haevensung  
> insta: @/kat.emariie
> 
> my zepeto code is C8U7LD if anyone wants to hmu


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